I recently found myself near the broad waters of the Yangpu river during
the late springtime, mindfully pondering the crossroads of opposites that is
today's Shanghai. Earlier, I gave a spirited TEDx talk about virtual-reality at
the Caohejing Hi-Tech Park Innovation Center. Parents were extremely interested in the vision health concerns associated with viewing VR in school settings. At the end of my visit, I spoke
to a group of parents at a prestigious Chinese school about trends in U.S.
technology for schools. Between these bookends, I listened, learned, questioned
and observed.
I learned about a popular and well attended VR expo held in China that preceded my TED talk, and saw VR prominently featured in storefronts for language instruction. It's interesting that VR may be more integrated in business culture in China than in the U.S. But it's definitely not as widely used in schools as is the case in the U.S.
If VR can be applied to math education in China, it will help with spacial imagination so much better. I haven't thought about language instruction with VR in China but do not doubt it will revolutionaize how students learn and use foreign language.
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